|
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists the pygmy loris as
threatened and the IUCN 2000 Redlist lists it as vulnerable, but
no one really knows actual numbers in the wild. The wildlife officials
in Vietnam consider this species to be endangered. Scientists
have been conducting studies on loris behavior, biology, reproduction,
and genetics.
Major threats to lorises include local hunters capturing lorises
because they are valuable in the Chinese medicine market. A local
villager can get approximately $3 (American) for a pygmy loris,
and slow lorises can fetch as much as $15, because they are larger.
This amount is comparable to two weeks' salary for the average
Vietnamese person. Locals also use lorises for food and medicine.
They're also kept as pets and sold to tourists.
Vietnamese officials have identified an area in a reserve that
has suitable re-release habitat for confiscated lorises. They
hope to attach radio-collars to the released lorises to study
their behavior and adjustment to their release site.
Scientists at the San Diego, Woodland Park, Brookfield, Philadelphia,
and Houston Zoos have recently written a loris husbandry manual
that has been translated into Vietnamese. It will allow availability
of basic loris husbandry information to Vietnamese wildlife officials,
local zoos, and rescue centers.
Return to SSP List
|